Outbreaks originating from animal reservoirs continue to take the world by surprise. Whether it is a novel virus such as Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) or severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) or a novel epidemiologic course of a known virus such as influenza and Ebola, no two outbreaks are the same. No one predicted the current unrelenting progress of Ebola Zaire virus in West Africa which is devastating Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. Usually, Ebola outbreaks occur in most years and are controlled within months locally. This time, however, the international response has not kept up with the epidemic. This is despite the “Herculean” efforts of non-government organisations led by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and the World Health Organization (WHO), the latter in the wake of massive funding cuts in the last 5 years.
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